Though it’s been only a few weeks since the NFL lockout ended and teams have been back on the field, former BYU running back Harvey Unga has already taken two personal leaves from the Chicago Bears, according to ESPN.
Both absences — the most recent came on Thursday — have been excused by the team, but they may hurt Unga’s chances of making the Bears’ 53-man roster before Chicago’s regular season opener on Sept. 11.
In 2010, BYU’s all-time leading rusher decided to forgo his senior season after violating the Honor Code and entered the NFL Supplemental Draft. He was picked up by the Chicago Bears, but a pulled hamstring kept him on the injured reserve and out of the spotlight during his rookie year.
Now, a year later, many Cougar and Bear fans are asking, “Where’s Harvey?”
One fan recently wrote in to the Chicago Tribune, asking, “What has become of Harvey Unga? … No one, in any article mentions Unga. Does he still exist?”
Reporter Dan Pompei answered, “Unga still does exist on the Bears roster. You should see a good deal of him in the preseason. Unga is not going to make the Bears as a tailback. If he sticks, it’s going to be as a fullback.”
Unga definitely has his work cut out for him trying to earn a spot on Chicago’s roster. On the Bears’ unofficial depth chart, he is listed behind Matt Forte, Chester Taylor, Marion Barber and Kahlil Bell.
Forte, the Bears’ top running back, rushed for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns last season and has 3,236 yards in his three-year career. Taylor is a nine-year veteran, with his best year in 2006 with the Minnesota Vikings, when he ran for 1,216 yards. But Taylor had a disappointing debut with the Bears last year, picking up only 267 yards.
Barber was acquired from the Dallas Cowboys, where he spent the last six years, running for 4,358 yards and 47 touchdowns. Bell has 220 rushing yards in his two-year career in Chicago. In the Bears’ first preseason game last week against the Buffalo Bills, Bell had 13 carries for 73 yards and Barber ran seven times for 45 yards.
However, it looks like Unga has seemed to gain some headway recently.
Dominique Blanton, a blogger for a Chicago Bears blog, the Windy City Gridiron, wrote that, “Unga could step in for Forte from time to time without there being a big drop off because defenses will have to play him a lot like they play Forte since he’s also a pretty good receiving back.”
Unga made a good case for himself last week in Chicago’s preseason game. Unga had nine carries for 27 yards, which was third best on the team. He also had one play where he took a carry inside the opponent’s 15-yard line and carried a pile of players down to the 5.
Steven Schweickert, another blogger for Windy City Gridiron, praised Unga, writing, “I still can’t get that image of the ‘pile of bodies’ moving toward the end zone out of my head.”
But even though Schweickert was impressed with Unga, he also added that “if Barber does what Unga is supposed to do, which is run with power and pick up short yardage, Unga might be left out to dry.”
There is some speculation that Chicago may cut Taylor, leaving an open spot for Unga, but he has to be around to prove himself.
Unga’s next chance to show the Bears what he can do on Monday in a preseason game against the New York Giants. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN.
No comments:
Post a Comment